The two teams coming to the SunUte Community Center to play the Ignacio High School girls basketball team this weekend have combined for a 2-10 record this season.

IHS (5-3) will face San Juan League foes Mancos at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Telluride at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Bluejays boast both victories and won their last game at Newcomb (Newcomb, New Mexico) on Tuesday.

That snapped a five-game losing streak after Mancos (2-5) won its opener against Newcomb at home.

“What I do know is (their) numbers are down a little bit,” IHS head coach Shane Seibel said. “It’s tough and challenging to keep the morale going when few girls come out. I know we’re going to get a good match, a good game based on the rivalry. They’ve always been scrappy in volleyball, and that carries over to basketball.”

IHS won last season’s game 57-54 in Mancos and hasn’t lost to the Bluejays since 2010, a seven-game winning streak.

The Bobcats also are riding a three-game winning streak against their Saturday opponent, Telluride (0-5).

“It’s a league fight,” Seibel said. “They’re very competitive. What we expect is their best, nothing less. We’ve seen them in the summer in camp. They played hard, and they don’t give up. We’ve got to match that intensity.”

In order to do that, Seibel has his team focused on itself and what it does well rather than the opponent.

He wants the Bobcats to respect Mancos and Telluride but be more concerned about improving from game to game.

“That’s always the key, that mental toughness,” Seibel said. “The one thing I stress to the girls and reinforce is it starts within.”

Friday starts the real meat of the Bobcats’ league schedule.

They’ll play Friday/Saturday games from now until the end of February with only a Feb. 10 Pine River Rivalry game in Bayfield otherwise.

“This is the fun part of the season. This is what you work hard to do,” Seibel said. “Practice times shorten up a little bit, and you just play.”

kgrabowski@durangoherald.com